Coconut Tart with Chocolate Smear

I know.  I know.  It's taken me a long time to get blogging in this new year.  But I have a great excuse.  Really I do.  See, my husband left again.  You remember that he went off last summer to work in a faraway country.  Right?  Well, he got to come home for TWO WHOLE WEEKS during the Christmas holidays.  The boys and I soaked up his presence and basked in his nearness.

And then, boom, we had to say goodbye.  On New Year's Eve of all days!  So, I got kind of down in the dumps for a while.  And what else would I do when I'm down in the dumps but bake?  Chocolate?  Right?

I had been eyeing this recipe for a while and it seemed the perfect thing to make.  Coconut tart with chocolate smear.  It hails from Mark Bittman's The Food Matters Cookbook.  I've been trying a few dishes from this cookbook.  Some are simple, yet absolutely tasty.  Some are just okay.  This tart, though, is my favorite thing so far.  It's rather easy to make.  The crust is like a big coconut macaroon.  And then the chocolate smear is really more than a smear.  It's like a pudding or a custard, cooked on the stovetop, and poured into the golden shell.  That's it.  Really easy.

I think I've eaten about four pieces of the tart.  Four moments of pure bliss.  Four steps closer to climbing out of the dumps and cooking, baking, blogging again.

Coconut Tart with Chocolate Smear
Slightly adapted from The Food Matters Cookbook by Mark Bittman


Ingredients:
2 cups shredded, unsweetened coconut
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs, separated
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt plus a pinch
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate (I used chips)
1 cup light coconut milk

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Heavily butter a 9-inch tart pan or pie pan.  Combine the shredded coconut, sugar, 2 egg whites, vanilla, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a bowl.  Press mixture into the bottom and sides of the tart pan.  (If using a pie pan only press the mixture about 1/2 way up the sides.)  Bake in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes until tart shell is firm and lightly toasted.

2.  While the tart shell is baking, combine the chocolate, 2 egg yolks, coconut milk, and pinch of salt in a saucepan over medium low heat.  Cook, whisking constantly, until the chocolate is melting and steaming.  Do NOT let the mixture boil or it will separate.

3.  When the tart shell is fully baked, remove it from the oven and pour in the chocolate mixture.  Let the tart cool completely.  Then refrigerate for a few hours before cutting and serving.  Serves 8.

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